7775 Aquabase Invasion
|Ages = 8 - 14 |Released = January 2007 |Theme = Aqua Raiders }} 7775 Aquabase Invasion is an Aqua Raiders set released in 2007. It includes a large underwater station with a control room and several gun emplacements, an underwater scooter, a small submarine, a giant squid, four divers and a skeleton. This is the biggest of the seven sets from the theme and the only base of the Aqua Raiders. Description The base consists of a docking pad for the minisub and a main complex with large windows. From the docking pad leads a walkway to a bulkhead which connects the interior directly to the outside. The control room in the main complex contains a desk with computer monitor and a large translucent viewing screen. There is also a maintenance rack with a small underwater scooter that can be lifted onto a launch mechanism by a small crane. The mechanism is triggered by tilting a frame until it aligns with a ramp that ends in a transparent tunnel so that the scooter slides down and leaves the station. Other details of the base include several red air tanks with hoses and its armament. On top of the base is a rotatable spring-loaded gun and on the front are two harpoon cannons that look like Gatling guns. Both are mounted on ball-joints and each one consists of six spears held together by two TECHNIC wedge belt wheels. The minisub is reminiscent of the vessels from the older Divers theme and contains a crate filled with four gold coins and two light blue gems. The sub has a cockpit with just enough room for one minifigure at the front and behind it a small cargo bay that can be accessed through hatches at port and starboard. At the aft is a propeller. There's also a small engine block at the rear of the roof and a twin cannon in front of it. These cannon looks similar to the one mounted on the rover included in 7772 Lobster Strike. The giant squid has fluorescent eyes and tentacle tips, as well as two glow in the dark Barraki-spines implemented in the squid's belly, where a trapped skeleton with diving gear acts as a macabre detail. The squid's body is covered by a transparent panel and can be opened to access the minifigure. The set also includes several tools (from the "wheel of tools"), a small crab and transparent green sea weed in several places. Two of the four minifigures wear woolen hats by default, but diving gears are included for all of them. The prototype features a much different looking sub a tunnel which had no access to the base and a red giant squid instead of a blue one. Notes * Unlike the previous underwater stations (6195 Neptune Discovery Lab and 6441 Deep Reef Refuge) which were both fully enclosed, this one is open at the rear. * This set contains the same sticker sheet as 7774 Crab Crusher, which is why some stickers that are only intended for the other set are seemingly useless and not mentioned in the building instructions. The sticker on the viewing screen that shows the giant squid is also used in the Crab Crusher set. * This is the only set to date that contains the huge round window pieces colored in light blue. Another rare piece is the transparent tunnel, which has only one other appearance thus far (in 7894 Airport). * The face of the diver who works inside the base resembles the face of Axel Storm from Atlantis, except Axel Storm looks more serious. Minifigures Included LEGO.com Description Gallery 7775 Front.jpg|The base's spear guns. 7775 Inside.jpg|The crane. 7775 Squid.jpg|The Squid. 7775 Sub.jpg|The sub. 7775 Turret.jpg|The defense turret. Parts * Drill See also * 8061 Gateway of the Squid (Atlantis, 2010), another set with a giant monster squid. ;Other sets that include underwater bases * 6195 Neptune Discovery Lab (1995, Aquazone) * 6441 Deep Reef Refuge (1997, Divers) * 6199 Hydro Crystallization Station (1998, Aquazone) External links * Review at BrickZone.net Category:Aqua Raiders Category:7000 sets Category:2007 sets